History of association football

Association football is the official name of the sport governed by the International Federation of Association football (FIFA). It is known in some parts of the world as "soccer"; a derivative of the word "association". In others, it is known simply as "football".

Most of the modern variants of football evolved in the 19th century from traditional forms of football played in the Great Britain and Ireland.

There are history sections in many football articles which do not focus exclusively on history, for example articles about football by country, national football teams, football clubs and football competitions.